Mary: Chosen by God to Give Birth to the Saviour
Luke 1, Matthew
1:18-25
We will follow Mary's
story in the gospel of Luke, with references back to Matthew, Isaiah and
Genesis. Luke 1:26-27 "in the sixth
month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth
to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and
the virgin's name was Mary.. V19 Gabriel had told Zacharias who was to be the
father of John the Baptist, that Gabriel has a special position "And the
angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God;
and am sent to speak unto thee....."
Why was it so
important that Mary was a virgin? Genesis 3:15 "And I will put enmity
between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise
thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
Her seed, not the seed of fallen man, but the seed of the woman. The
Saviour's birth would be very special, of supernatural means. Isaiah 7:14
"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Mary was a
virgin, and Matthew 1:18 confirms it. "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was
on this wise: when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came
together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost."
It is impossible to
imagine what that moment was like when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. In the simplicity with which the Bible often
depicts its most awesome moments, we are told in V28 just that "the angel
came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is
with thee; blessed are thou among women." V29 when Mary saw Gabriel
"she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of
salutation this should be as Gabriel had told her three things, that she is
highly favoured by the Lord, that the Lord is with her, and that she is
blessed. Think about this, if God would
send an angel to us, what would he tell us that the Lord thinks of us? Of all the women in Israel, God chose this
humble maiden to be the mother of the Saviour of the World, truly, she must
have been a very godly young woman.
Mary does not
understand what Gabriel is telling her, V29 "and when she saw him, she was
troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this
should be." V30-33 Gabriel comforts
her "......Fear not Mary, for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb,
and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the
Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his
father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his
kingdom there shall be no end." The reference to the throne of David is a
fulfillment of the prophesies in Isaiah 9:6-7"For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his
name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the
increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of
David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and
with justice from henceforth even for ever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this." Some of these
prophecies are yet to be fulfilled, but we have no doubt they will be.
In V34 Mary does not
doubt nor disbelieve that these things will be accomplished, she merely wonders
"how shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" - this statement is also shows that Mary was
a virgin. To which Gabriel replies V35
".....The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest
shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of
thee shall be called the Son of God."
Matthew tells us in
V18 that "when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came
together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost." and that
"Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a
publick example, was minded to put her away privily." Joseph and Mary were
espoused, considered married before the final wedding had taken place. But as Joseph was wondering what to do, the
"angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son
of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived
in her is of the Holy Ghost" It is
interesting that the angel appears to Joseph in a dream, not in person as
Gabriel had to Mary. Matthew 1: V24-25 "Then Joseph being raised from
sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called
his name JESUS." We find here that Mary was a virgin until after the birth
of the Lord Jesus.
Back to Luke's
gospel, Mary is told that her cousin Elisabeth has V36 "...also conceived
a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called
barren" Another miracle birth, albeit of a man and his wife, but she
past the age of childbearing. Here is a reminder of Sarah, who also bore a child past the age of bearing. And then those wonderful words V37 "For
with God nothing shall be impossible" What words of hope for every believer,
whatsoever we ask, if it be His will, nothing is impossible with the Lord.
Mary never doubts or
questions, but merely believes and accepts what she has been told V38 "And
Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy
word. and the angel departed from her."
And so Mary goes to
visit Elisabeth the very next day, V39 "with haste, into a city of Judah
and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth." V41 ".......when Elisabeth heard the
salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with
the Holy Ghost" Filled with the Holy
Ghost Elisabeth V42-43 "spake out
with a loud voice, and said "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is
the fruit of thy womb. And whence is
this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" What amazing statements, before Mary can say
anything, Elisabeth acknowledges that she knows that Mary is with child, and
even more amazing than that, she acknowledges Mary's child as "my
Lord" believing that the unborn child is her Saviour!
And next we have
Mary's most beautiful song of rejoicing, praise and worship. V46-55."And Mary said, My soul doth
magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his
handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me
blessed. For he that is mighty hath done
to me great things; and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to
generation. He hath shown strength with
his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats,
and exalted them of low degree. He hath
filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath helped his servant Israel, in
remembrance of his mercy; as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his
seed for ever." These verses are similar to Hannah's song to the Lord after presenting Samuel to Eli - 1 Samuel 1-10. (for my study on Hannah, go here)
Mary stays with
Elisabeth V56 "about three months, and returned to her own house."
No other birth in history has ever been or will
ever be like that of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. The child to come is both God and man. His is the most notable birth in history, all
calendar time is centered around that moment, B.C. and A.D., Before Christ and
Anno Domini (In the Year of Our Lord)
Those wishing to denounce the birth of Christ have changed A.D. into
C.E. (the common era), but they cannot change the fact that the Saviour was
born.
As the time of Mary's delivery draws near, by
the intervention of God, Caesar Augustus calls for the world to be taxed, each
person to return to the city of his
birth. Thus the Saviour would be born in
Bethlehem, the place of birth of Mary's husband Joseph, in fulfillment of Micah
5:2. "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the
thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be
ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." We don't know how long it took for Joseph and
Mary to make the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem, but it was accomplished
according to the timing of God so that Mary would be in Bethlehem for the
delivery.V6 "And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were
accomplished that she should be delivered."
God manifest in the
flesh was not born in a palace, he was born in a stable, a lowly birth, a place
of poverty, not with finery and riches that men might desire him, but to a
simple maiden and her husband who was a carpenter, that he might grow up
inconspicuous until his earthly ministry began.
But he was born King, not a prince as are born the princes of men, but a
King, with a kingdom to come. The Lord Jesus was always King, and thus when
he was come "in fashion as a man" yet sinless, he was King at his
birth. No other person has ever or will
ever be born King.
No one was present at
the birth of the Saviour but animals and
Mary and Joseph. He had not a fine cradle to lay in, nor fancy covers, but he lay
a manger from which the livestock fed, and swaddling clothes. Luke 2:7
"And she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling
clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the
inn."
Heralding the birth
of the Saviour, the angel of the Lord appears to the Shepherds, V8 "and
there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch
over their flock by night. And lo the
angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about
them: and they were sore afraid.. And
the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is
Christ the Lord. And this shall be a
sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a
manger.".... then V15-16 "and it came to pass, as the angels were gone
away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, let us now go
even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord
hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph,
and the babe lying in a manger." and after seeing the baby, the shepherds V17-18 "made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds." but Mary V19
"kept all these things and pondered them in her heart")
When the Lord Jesus
was eight days old, Mary and Joseph took him to Jerusalem, to present him to
the Lord. And my question to you is, are
your children dedicated to the Lord? do
you trust Him for their lives? do you tell them the wonderful gospel? Do you pray for them? We have great responsibility to our little ones.
When the Lord Jesus
was twelve years old, Mary and Joseph took him to Jerusalem for the passover
feast, but when they left, he stayed behind without them knowing it. Realizing
that Jesus was not with them, they returned to Jerusalem and found him teaching
in the temple, and Mary asked him Luke 2:48-49 "Son, why hast thou thus
dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them "How is it that ye sought me? wist
ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" But they didn't understand what Jesus was saying to them, and V51 "he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these
sayings in her heart". After this
time, Joseph is not mentioned again.
After Jesus begins
his ministry, he is invited to a wedding in Cana, where the wine has run out,
and here we find Mary telling the Lord Jesus "They have no wine"
(John 2:3) to which Jesus said "..Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." Mary
undoubtedly has great faith in Jesus as the Son of God, and that he is well
able to perform the miracle of turning the water into wine, which he surely
does. Its noteworthy that Jesus refers to Mary as "Woman". Regarding this statement, Matthew Henry says:
"Now this was intended to be, First, A check to his mother for interposing in a matter which was the act of his Godhead, which had no dependence on her, and which she was not the mother of. Though, as man, he was David’s Son and hers; yet, as God, he was David’s Lord and hers, and he would have her know it."
link to Matthew Henry's commentary on the book of John: http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/john/2.html
The next time we read
of Mary, it is at the very sad occasion of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus
Christ. John 19:25 "Now there stood
by the cross of Jesus his mother......"
We can only imagine the complete devastation of Mary, witnessing her
beloved son whom she had followed through his ministry, now hanging, suffering on that cruel
cross..taking upon himself the penalty for sin, and shedding his precious blood.
But the Lord
Jesus does a most compassionate, loving thing. John 19:26-27 "When Jesus
therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith
unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold
thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."
So this is what we
are told of Mary, a virgin girl, chosen by God to give birth to the Saviour of
the world, blessed among women.
vcg/July 2015
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